JERUSALEM — The U.S. intelligence community was said to have drafted
an assessment that cited an intensive Iranian nuclear weapons program.

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Officials said the U.S. intelligence community has completed a
National Intelligence Estimate on Iran that was presented to the
White House. They said the study confirmed Israeli assessments that
Iran was making significant progress toward its first nuclear bomb.

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“This is being passed around the offices of senior officials,” Israeli
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

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Barak, regarded as the Israeli minister closest to Washington, said
the
NIE largely reflected that of the Israeli intelligence community. The
minister said both countries have concluded that Iran’s nuclear
program marked an urgent threat.

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“We are facing tough decisions,” Barak told Israel state radio on Aug.
9.
Earlier, Israel’s Haaretz daily reported that the NIE represented a
consensus by Israel and four NATO states on Iran’s nuclear program.

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The
newspaper said Britain, France, Germany, Israel and the United States
agreed
that Iran progressed in the nuclear program much faster than had been
assessed.